Sees important aspect of graduate education as learning how to evaluate quality and validity of research. Notes that study of families presents particular challenges. Examines three methods to teach students to critique family research. Sees all three as holding promise in teaching students how to evaluate family research and notes that all three…

Small group research presently suffers from five major weaknesses: lack of a common conceptual base, lack of appropriate design, lack of external validity, lack of adequate instrumentation, and lack of appropriate statistical procedure. Application of Cattell's three panel model (involving syntality, characteristics of internal structure, and…

The purpose of this training workbook is to provide the user with an understanding of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) sufficient to allow him to identify situations in which it can increase the credibility and the statistical power of the analysis. The module provides a conceptual, nonmathematical overview of the purposes of ANCOVA. The…

This paper attends to the critical, problematic and massively pervasive question of moving from precise and defensible statements of theoretical validity to equally precise and defensible statements of practical viability. Specifically, the paper presents certain experiences of sociologists engaged in bringing to bear tested propositions of youth…

This self-contained and self-instructional unit is intended for use by evaluation and development personnel and by students in introductory research and evaluation courses. The unit contains a discussion of the regression employing graphic illustrations with actual data. The user is introduced to the regression effect in the single group…

This overview of the research process for the novice information retrieval (IR) researcher provides guidance on selecting a research question, choosing the type of test, defining variables, developing or using databases, finding and processing queries, assigning treatments to experimental units, collecting and analyzing the data, and presenting…

This resource document represents the integration of both practice and theory related to minimum competency testing (MCT), and is largely based on information collected in a nationwide survey of MCT programs. Chapter 1, To Implement or Not to Implement MCT, by Marcy R. Perkins, presents a definition of MCT and a discussion of the perceived…